Native and non-native ctenophores in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea

Observations of ctenophore species were made in the Gulf of Trieste between 2003 and 2006. We examined native ctenophore species with special attention to representatives of the orders Lobata and Beroida, and we recorded among them two non-native ctenophores: Mnemiopsis leidyi A. Agassiz 1865 and Beroe ovata sensu Mayer, 1912. The validity of the Mediterranean species Beroe ovata is discussed. We determined that among the native species, it is not Beroe ovata but rather Beroe cucumis sensu Mayer, 1912 that occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.